Nobody had a worse week on the course at the Web.com Tour’s Club Colombia Championship than Julio Bell, a 52-year-old amateur who received harsh criticism after shooting 93-105 on a sponsor invite.
But one pro golfer has joined Bell in facing backlash from actions stemming to the event in Colombia.
Lee McCoy found himself dealing with detractors Monday when he tweeted his thoughts on his experience at the event.
The former University of Georgia star, who was medalist at the final stage of Web.com Tour Q-School, did close in 67 at Bogota Country Club to salvage a T-20 finish. But his play wasn’t what was frustrating him.
McCoy iterated on Twitter that fan behavior during the event was bothering him. And we sympathize with that idea, because unruly fans are annoying.
But McCoy’s gripes appeared to be of a different nature than some yahoo yelling “mashed potatoes” in his backswing.
The original tweets have since been deleted. They are below for reference, along with a few other greatest hits from this week. #GrowTheGame pic.twitter.com/9k5t95OvkX
— Tron Carter (@TronCarterNLU) February 12, 2018
McCoy’s sentiments did not go over well.
Looks like I got my “life lesson” today. At least you are living up to your reputation of being a complete douche bag.. pic.twitter.com/bqMmqSGRnq
— bowdo (@bowdo83) February 12, 2018
The lesson will be yours if you continue to shun these kids who dream to walk in your “shoes” one day. No one will ask for anything from you, and that will be when you know it’s over. Be careful how quickly you run them off.
— InTheFlesch (@Steve_Flesch) February 12, 2018
Thanks @LeeMcCoyGolf for subbing in on twitter for @GraysonMurray !
— Colt Knost (@ColtKnost) February 12, 2018
Here is Ben Taylor (who won the event) graciously signing for/taking selfies with those same 30 kids that @LeeMcCoyGolf thought it better to impart “life lessons” upon. pic.twitter.com/wDqQrrXhOH
— Tron Carter (@TronCarterNLU) February 12, 2018
Here’s the tweet McCoy responded to with the “There were at least 30 kids…” line:
The life lesson was a professional athlete showing gratitude that fans came to watch and contribute to the purse that said professionals play for I assume?
— Mike Ryan (@mryan311) February 11, 2018
There were several other comments Twitter users made toward McCoy, and somebody went ahead messed with his bio in a rude way. Whatever you feel about McCoy’s comments, that’s not cool.
this escalated quickly pic.twitter.com/JUjgaautae
— Nick Taylor (@ntaylor1025) February 12, 2018
McCoy ended up deleting his Twitter account Monday after the comments toward him rolled in. It’s unclear if the hiatus is short-term or permanent.
But McCoy is generally active on social media, so we’d guess he won’t be away from Twitter for long. Danielle Kang deleted her Twitter account after criticism in October but shortly brought it back.
Social media is certainly a delicate place. Was the criticism toward McCoy justified or was this an example of a Twitter mob overreacting?
Feel free to leave your comments below.
